Headrest for stryker frame



June 18, 1968 L. c. HARRIS HEADREST FOR STRYKER FRAME Filed Oct. 31, 1966 STE Fig.1 --3 INVENTOR. LAWRENCE C. HARRIS ATTORNEY United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention involves a patients headrest for a Stryker frame. The headrest comprises a resilient pad to be removably secured across an opening in the frame and has a central window, from the lower margin of which window a slack, flexible support extends to receive and support the patients chin and locate the patients forehead to rest on a marginal portion of the pad extend- I ing above the upper window margin opposite the chin support and have his nose and mouth freely available through the pad window.

This invention is that of a head support or rest to be removably attached to a Stryker frame particularly when a patient is strapped to the frame face down.

There are several factors to be considered in such a headrest. The patient may be without control of movement of his head and, unless properly restrained, the head may tend to shift or roll forwardly or backwardly or sidewise as the frame is revolved. The frame is designed for use in rotating paraplegic patients or those who have had a brain "accident or a stroke. A matter of sanitation enters into the picture due to some extent to involuntary escape of saliva and therefore the headrest is preferably of a moisture or liquid impermability cover material at least. The rest therefore needs to be removable readily from the frame. Also a matter of supporting the head in comfort and at the normal position in reference to the spine of the patient must be taken care of to avoid shifting of the head.

The object of the invention illustrated and described herein is to provide a structure to meet those factors wherein the structure is readily attached and detached from the frame to provide not only a device readily sanitized but also one that has a reversible face and is comfortable in contacting the patients skin in effecting the head support.

The invention is described in reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a top plan View of a structure embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in section on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view in section on the line 33 in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the Stryker frame is not illustrated since its construction is well known to those who practice in the field in which the frame is employed.

A rectangular pad is generally designated by the numeral 10. It is preferably made to have surfaces of a plastic material on both top and back covers a and 10b which enclose a core of resilient and elastic material such as foam rubber 13. The pad 10 is provided with a margin 10c therearound. Grommets 11 are carried by the marginal portion of the pad 11 and, in the present showing, are located to be in groups on opposite sides of the pad, such as two spaced grommets on each side near the top edge portion and two spaced grommets on opposite sides of the pad near the bottom edge portion as shown in FIG. 1.

A window 14 is provided through the pad 10 and has an upper marginal line 15 perpendicular to the opposite window sides which are approximately parallel to the Patented June 18, 1968 side marginal edge portions of the pad 10. The lower marginal line 16 bows downwardly in a concave line.

A chin support member 17 has its lower edge fixed around the arcuate line 16. This support 17 has an upper edge line designated by the letter D and therefore is slightly longer than the width of the window 14 as measured by the line 15. The upper edge of the support is rounded in transverse section and the line D extends along the outermost side of this roundness. The support member 17 is stuffed with a material characterized by being resilient and elastic, one such material being foam rubber. The support member 17 is made to have a lateral fullness so that the edge D may be carried beyond either side of the pad 10 into a transversely convex shape. The support member 17 is so stuffed as to be much thinner than are the other portions of the pad.

The pad so far described is ready for use with the plastic facing which may be readily cleaned. However, when a softer surfaced pad is desired, the plastic surfaces may be covered by a removable soft flannel material, to be either discarded or washed after each use of the pad.

In operation, the pad 10 is secured between rail members (not shown) of the Stryker frame by suitable lacing (not shown) to have the pad tautly fixed therebetween. The two sets of grommets are so placed as above de scribed to avoid tensioning the pad through its side zones one on each side of the window 14 thereby avoiding distortion of the window 14 margins.

The patients head is positioned over the pad 10 by placing his head to rest on the support member 17 with his forehead on the pad portion extending above the window margin line 15 and upwardly therefrom and his chin on the support 17. The window 14 is so sized that the mouth and nose of the patient will be exposed between the edge D of the chin support 17 and the window margin 15 The fullness of the support 17 will permit the support to be stretched under the pressure of the chin thereon into a concave form to permit the support to curve upwardly around each side of the chin which prevents slippage of the chin from side to side. The concave line D of the support 17 in its attachment around the pad fixed length concave line 16 in combination with the extensible line D sets up a gradually widening concave shape of the support 17 to conform to and yieldingly encompass the chin. The patient will, in the well known manner, he strapped including his head to the Stryker frame and the pad 10. Due to the length of the line D, the pad may be used with either side up and have the support 17 extend downwardly in either case.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one form now best known to me, it is obvious that there may be deviations from that form without departing from the spirit of the invention, particularly in reference to the marginal shape, the cover and pad stufling material; and the mode of attachment to the Stryker frame. Therefore, I do not desire to be limited to that precise form any more than may be required by the following claims.

I claim:

1. For a Stryker frame, a patients head support for frame attachment comprising a pad having opposite faces and a window opening therethrough;

said window opening having side margins, an upper margin and a lower arcuate margin spaced below said upper margin;

21 flexible chin support having a lower arcuate margin fixed to said lower window margin;

said support having an upper marginal edge spaced below said window upper margin a distance to leave a window opening therebetween; and

said support edge having a length exceeding the width of said window permitting the central part of said support edge to bow selectively a distance from either of said opposite faces of said pad.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said window arcuate margin is concave in respect to the window opening;

said support arcuate margin is convex; and

said support and window margins are secured one to the other.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said chin support is flexible and resilient and, under pressure of the chin thereon, conforms to the chin shape; and

said spaced distance being sufficient to expose the nose and mouth of the patient through said opening.

4. A face rest for a patient on a Stryker frame, comprising a pad having opposite faces and a window therethrough;

said window having side, upper and lower margins;

and

a chin support fixed to said lower margin and extending with a resilient fullness between said side margins, conforming to the shape of the patients chin when resting on the support and locating his forehead to rest on the pad above said window upper margin to have his mouth and nose exposed in the window opening between that support and the window upper margin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,803,022 8/1957 Wynkoop 5327 3,114,527 12/1963 Demarest 5327 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

RAYMOND D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner. 20 

